Wednesday night I headed to the House of Blues for the Sugar Ray concert featuring special guests Fastball and Aimee Allen. Quite a few of my co-workers were heading out to concerts that night as well, including Incubus at Tower City Amphitheater, the Dave Matthews Band at Blossom and the Pedal to the Metal tour at the Chevrolet Center. Although it was a music-fest in northeast Ohio, offering something for everyone, scheduling all four major concerts on the same night did have an impact on the turnout, at least at the concert I attended.

The evening began on the right note with Aimee Allen, pop/rock singer from L.A. With a new album, A Little Happiness, released just a week ago, Allen was working the audience with mannerisms similar to Gwen Stefani. She moved around the stage, dancing, swaying and keeping the sparse audience engaged. Her set had a groovy, almost pop/reggae feel to it that was constantly interrupted by her killer vocals. In addition to playing her own songs, she threw in a cover of Sublime’s Santeria, which I loved hearing with the female vocal lead. I didn’t know many of her songs but was convinced when she wrapped up the set with Little Happiness that it would be worthwhile to check out the new album.

The pit started to fill a little as Fastball prepped for their set, and I was surprised at the audience make-up, which ranged from younger kids to quite a few older adults. Opening with Little White Lies, the title track of their new album that launched back in April, the band’s sound hasn’t changed much from the hits I remember from them in the 90’s. Despite the mellow, somewhat playful jams and simple harmonies, there were some pretty enthusiastic cheers from the crowd as the band moved into Fire Escape and Mono to Stereo. Bits of paper fluttered onto the stage while Tony Scalzo moved to the keyboard and launched into the real crowd pleasers—You’re an Ocean and Out of My Head. Although the crowd came alive, it felt to me like the band just wanted to get these older hits out of the way. The pit got quiet as Scalzo played some soft keyboard to accompany his solo vocals for the opening of The Way, which gained momentum as the rest of the band came in. They opened for the crowd to join in singing a cappella for the last chorus, but unfortunately the response was little more than a contributing murmur. Tossing in a Super Tramp cover that rocked harder than some of their own numbers, the band built up some energy for their close, Always Never, which had a compelling guitar solo that made it my favorite song from them for the evening despite their somewhat short set.

Not long after, the lights dimmed, fog whirled out and Stan Frazier joined his drum set. A big Sugar Ray banner dropped down, and the band hit the stage with Mark McGrath finally strolling out to kick off The Greatest. The guitar sounded a little harsh, but just as I was getting used to the new sound, McGrath commented, “It went number one, I’m just saying,” and the band segued into a version of Every Morning that sounded like it came straight off the album. McGrath gave the audience the finger as the band transitioned into a series of hits, including Answer the Phone, Someday and Under the Sun. In between songs McGrath spent a lot of time talking when I would rather have heard more music. For a band that’s been together for 21 years and has played Cleveland for the past 15, I was surprised at the number of covers they included in their set. It seemed like their own material could have filled up the evening. Regardless, the true Sugar Ray fans weren’t disappointed.

(written by Heather Bing)